|
|
Entertainment Technology News
PBS Station KSMQ Selects Three Hitachi SK-HD1000 HD Cameras to Produce Studio Shows for Minnesota and Iowa Viewers
By Staff
posted Nov 6, 2009, 15:54 |
|
(Woodbury, New York) Hitachi Kokusai Electric America, Ltd., a provider of
affordable, high performance cameras, announces that KSMQ-a PBS station in Austin,
MN-has outfitted its main studio with three new Hitachi SK-HD1000 multi-standard,
multi-format cameras to produce public interest programming for viewers in its
Southern Minnesota-Northern Iowa coverage area.
KSMQ "Cities on the Move" host Stephanie Passingham prepares guests
for an upcoming discussion of online social networking. Shown in the foreground
is one of the station's new Hitachi SK-HD1000 HD cameras.
"We chose Hitachi SK-HD1000's for several reasons: superior picture quality,
great camera set-up features, affordability, and multi-standard capability,"
said KSMQ's Chief Engineer Stefan Olson. "Because of the multi-standard capability,
we're able to buy cameras that serve our needs today, while we're still 4:3
SD, as well as later on when we transition to 720p HDTV-which maximizes our
investment."
In the spring of 2009, KSMQ ordered the three SK-HD1000's configured with Hitachi
CCU-3300 camera control units with the 720pHD option and Hitachi RU-3400 systems
for remote control of the camera menus. Together with new Vinten robotic camera
heads, these systems enable the cameras to be remotely set-up and operated from
the master control room.
KSMQ produces several local interest series including: "Cities on the Move,"
"Farm Connections," "Entre Amigos," "Diversity Connections," "Garden Connections,"
and "Health Connections." "Cities on the Move," KSMQ's most popular local program,
is a half-hour magazine show featuring interesting people, places and events
throughout its coverage area. Quarterly, KSMQ produces "Cities on the Move:
Town Hall Edition," a live one-hour program featuring five to eight guests discussing
timely topics.
The three SK-HD1000's, which are equipped with Fujinon Has18x7.6BRD-S48 lenses,
replaced four aging studio cameras-a mix of Ikegami and Panasonic that had run
their course. "Our older Ikegami HC-340's worked well for what we needed them
to do at the time. But there was an instant improvement when we upgraded to
the Hitachi SK-HD1000's," said Olson. "The picture quality was greatly improved
and even non-technical people could see and appreciate the difference."
Another key feature that KSMQ values about the SK-HD1000's is their user-friendly
camera set-up and the ability to save settings-which makes it easier for a small
production team to set-up and strike for different shows. According to John
Wiedenheft, KSMQ's producer/director, "While the shows all use a similar talk
show set and lighting, they each have unique technical requirements and stylized
looks that the cameras support." Once the cameras have been tweaked to a desired
setting, the data can be saved as a pre-set to ensure that the cameras can be
quickly returned to those desired settings.
"When we put the new Hitachi cameras into service, we immediately heard from
viewers, volunteers and staff who said they were very impressed with the picture
quality," said Wiedenheft. "We honestly couldn't be more pleased with the positive
impact these new Hitachi cameras have had on our productions."
KSMQ President and CEO Marianne Potter agrees. "The new HD Hitachi cameras are
a great asset to the station," she said. "We've saved valuable time and money
by using these, and our viewers have noticed a significant increase in quality.
We're very pleased with cameras' overall performance."
Resources:
KSMQ: www.ksmq.org
Hitachi: www.hitachikokusai.us
|
|
|